Wiring structure for trench fuse component with methods of fabrication

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure generally relates to a wiring structure for a fuse component and corresponding methods of fabrication. A wiring structure for a fuse component according to the present disclosure can include: a first electrical terminal embedded within a doped conductive layer, the doped conductive layer being positioned between two insulator layers of an integrated circuit (IC) structure; a dielectric liner positioned between the first electrical terminal and the doped conductive layer; a second electrical terminal embedded within the doped conductive layer; wherein each of the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal are further embedded in one of the two insulator layers, and the dielectric liner is configured to degrade upon becoming electrically charged.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to integrated circuitsand, more particularly, to the wiring structure of a trench fusecomponent and corresponding methods of fabrication.

Many integrated circuits include millions of interconnected devices,such as transistors, resistors, capacitors, and diodes, on a single chipof a semiconductor substrate. Semiconductor integrated circuits can alsoinclude one or more types of memory, such as CMOS memory, antifusememory, and fuse memory.

Some electrically programmable components of an electronic circuit caninclude fuses and antifuses. Fuses generally include a region ofconductive material between two electrical contacts. The conductivematerial can be destroyed to become non-conductive when exposed to athreshold level of voltage or current. This process can be referred toas “programming” or “fusing” the fuse. Conversely, an “antifuse” refersto an integrated circuit structure in which two electrically conductiveterminals are separated from each other by one or more regions composedof an electrically insulative material. Electric current can bepermitted to flow between the two terminals by materially altering ordestroying the regions of electrically insulative material. Bytransforming an electrically insulative region into an electricallyconductive region, “programming” or “fusing” an antifuse can serve theopposite purpose of a programmable fuse.

Some IC components, including fuses and antifuses, can be in the form ofa “deep trench” component. Generally, a “deep trench” component refersto an electrical component embedded at least partially within a buriedinsulator layer of a semiconductor-on insulator (SOI) structure. As ICstructures have become smaller, fuse and antifuse structures have beenused increasingly as a form of non-volatile memory. In particular, fuseand antifuse memory can permanently store certain items of unit-specificdata such as serial numbers. Design considerations for fuses and e-fusesinclude decreasing the size of these components to accommodate a greaternumber of components in an IC structure, and increasing theirversatility.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the present disclosure includes a wiring structure fora trench fuse component, the wiring structure comprising: a firstelectrical terminal embedded within a doped conductive layer, the dopedconductive layer being positioned between two insulator layers of anintegrated circuit (IC) structure; a dielectric liner positioned betweenthe first electrical terminal and the doped conductive layer; a secondelectrical terminal embedded within the doped conductive layer; whereineach of the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminalare further embedded in one of the two insulator layers, and thedielectric liner is configured to degrade upon becoming electricallycharged.

A second aspect of the present disclosure includes a method offabricating a trench fuse component, the method comprising: forming afirst insulator layer between a doped conductive layer and an oppositelydoped substrate of an integrated circuit (IC) structure, such that nop-n junction exists between the oppositely doped substrate and the dopedconductive layer; forming a first electrical terminal within the dopedconductive layer, wherein the first electrical terminal includes adielectric liner thereon; and forming a second electrical terminalwithin the doped conductive layer.

A third aspect of the present disclosure includes a trench antifusestructure comprising: a substrate; a first insulator layer positionedadjacent to the substrate; a doped conductive layer positioned adjacentto the first insulator layer; a second insulator layer positionedadjacent to the doped conductive layer; a semiconductor-on-insulator(SOI) layer positioned adjacent to the second insulator layer; a firstelectrical terminal embedded within the doped conductive layer, thesecond insulator layer, and the SOI layer; a dielectric liner positionedbetween the first electrical terminal and the doped conductive layer;and a second electrical terminal embedded within the doped conductivelayer, the second insulator layer, and the SOI layer; wherein thedielectric liner is configured to degrade upon becoming electricallycharged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of a wiring structure for afuse component according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross-sectional side views of a fuse componentundergoing processes according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a top-down view of a fuse component undergoing a processaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5-8 show cross-sectional side views of a fuse component undergoingprocesses according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional side view of a fuse component accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a top-down view of a fuse component according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. Thedrawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention,and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of theinvention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elementsbetween the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the presentteachings may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thepresent teachings, and it is to be understood that other embodiments maybe used and that changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present teachings. The following description is, therefore, merelyillustrative.

Features of the present disclosure include a wiring structure for atrench or “deep trench” fuse component. A wiring structure according tothe present disclosure can include a doped conductive layer positionedbetween two insulator layers of an integrated circuit (IC) structure.Positioning the doped conductive layer between two insulator layers ofan IC structure can prevent p-n junctions from forming between the dopedconductive layer and any semiconductor layers of the structure. Thus,embodiments of the present disclosure can prevent parasitic diodescaused by p-n junctions from forming within the conductive portions of afuse structure The doped conductive layer can also separate a firstelectrical terminal from a second electrical terminal. A dielectricliner of the trench, configured to degrade after being electricallycharged, can be positioned between the doped conductive layer and thefirst electrical terminal. To program a fuse component with this wiringstructure, a user can electrically charge the first electrical terminalto degrade the dielectric liner, thereby allowing electrical current toflow between the first and second electrical terminals. In addition, asdiscussed herein, wiring structures of a trench or “deep trench” fusecomponent can include an isolation ring for separating the trench fusecomponent from other components of an IC structure.

Turning to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional side view of a wiring structure 2for a fuse component is shown. Wiring structure 2 can be part of alarger integrated circuit (IC) structure, and may form part of a fuse orantifuse component. Wiring structure 2 can include a substrate 10positioned adjacent to a first insulator layer 12. A doped conductivelayer 14 can be positioned between first insulator layer 12 and a secondinsulator layer 16. As is known in the art, “doping” refers to a processby which an impurity or “dopant” is introduced into a semiconductivematerial to alter its electrical properties, e.g., the conductivity andresistivity of a material. Doped conductive layer 14 can be composed ofany currently known or later developed material capable of being doped,such as a semiconductor material. As examples, doped conductive layer 14can be composed of polysilicon, silicon germanium, or a conductiveorganic material, and may be doped either p-type or n-type. Substrate 10can also be composed of a doped semiconductor material, and may be dopedoppositely from doped conductive layer 14. For example, substrate 10 maybe doped p-type where doped conductive layer 14 is doped n-type, andvice-versa. The doping of doped conductive layer 14 can increase theelectrical conductivity of its material composition, thereby allowingelectrical currents to travel through doped conductive layer 14. Firstand second insulator layers 12, 16 can be composed of any material whichsubstantially prevents the flow of electric current therethrough, e.g.,substances including but not limited to: silicon nitride (Si₃N₄),silicon oxide (SiO₂), fluorinated SiO₂ (FSG), hydrogenated siliconoxycarbide (SiCOH), porous SiCOH, boro-phospho-silicate glass (BPSG),silsesquioxanes, carbon (C) doped oxides (i.e., organosilicates) thatinclude atoms of silicon (Si), carbon (C), oxygen (O), and/or hydrogen(H), thermosetting polyarylene ethers, SiLK (a polyarylene etheravailable from Dow Chemical Corporation), a spin-on silicon-carboncontaining polymer material available from JSR Corporation, other lowdielectric constant (<3.9) material, or layers thereof. In someembodiments, first insulator layer 12 and second insulator layer 16 mayinclude an oxide, and thus may be referred to as “buried oxide” (BOX)layers. A semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 18 can be positionedadjacent to second insulator layer 16. The material composition ofsubstrate 10 and/or SOI layer 18 can include, e.g., silicon, germanium,silicon germanium, silicon carbide, and substances consistingessentially of one or more III-V compound semiconductors having acomposition defined by the formulaAl_(X1)Ga_(X2)In_(X3)As_(Y1)P_(Y2)N_(Y3)Sb_(Y4), where X1, X2, X3, Y1,Y2, Y3, and Y4 represent relative proportions, each greater than orequal to zero and X1+X2+X3+Y1+Y2+Y3+Y4=1 (1 being the total relativemole quantity). Other suitable substrates include II-VI compoundsemiconductors having a composition Zn_(A1)Cd_(A2)Se_(B1)Te_(B2), whereA1, A2, B1, and B2 are relative proportions each greater than or equalto zero and A1+A2+B1+B2=1 (1 being a total mole quantity). Furthermore,a portion of substrate 10 and/or SOI layer 18 may be strained.

Wiring structure 2 can include several electrically conductive andinsulative components as shown in FIG. 1 by way of example. A firstelectrical terminal 20 can be embedded within doped conductive layer 14.First electrical terminal 20 can extend through second insulator layer16 and/or SOI layer 18. First electrical terminal 20 can be composed ofany currently known or later developed conductive material, such as ametal, in addition to other materials discussed herein. If desired, atleast a portion of first electrical terminal 20 can be composed of thesame material or a similar material as doped conductive layer 14, suchas polysilicon, silicon germanium, and/or a conductive organic material.

A first dielectric liner 22 can be positioned between first electricalterminal 20 and doped conductive layer 14. First dielectric liner,similar to first insulator layer 12 and second insulator layer 16, maybe composed of an electrically insulative material which substantiallyblocks the flow of electrical current between first electrical terminal20 and doped conductive layer 14. First dielectric liner can completelyoccupy the space between first electrical terminal 20 and dopedconductive layer 14. In an embodiment, first dielectric liner 22 can becomposed of a material having a dielectric constant of at least 3.9,such as metal oxides, tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), barium titanium oxide(BaTiO₃), hafnium oxide (HfO₂), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) or metal silicates such as hafnium silicate oxide(Hf_(A1)Si_(A2)O_(A3)) or hafnium silicate oxynitride(Hf_(A1)Si_(A2)O_(A3)N_(A4)), where A1, A2, A3, and A4 representrelative proportions, each greater than or equal to zero and A1+A2+A3+A4(1 being the total relative mole quantity). First dielectric liner 22,by having a material composition with a dielectric constant of at leastapproximately 3.9 and a thickness of, e.g., between approximately 1 nmand approximately 10 nm, or between approximately 3 nm and approximately6 nm, can degrade, migrate, break down, etc. when exposed to an electriccurrent yielded from a particular power supply (e.g., at leastapproximately 2 V). First dielectric liner 22 can also be composed ofother currently known or later developed insulator materials withsimilar properties. In addition, it is understood that other portions offirst electrical terminal 20 can be coated with other types of liners toreduce the flow of electrical current from first electrical terminal 20into other parts of wiring structure 2, but these additional liners areomitted from the accompanying figures for clarity.

A second electrical terminal 30, which may be known in the art andequivalently referred to as a “substrate contact,” can also be embeddedwithin doped conductive layer 14. In an embodiment, second electricalterminal 30 can be embedded within doped conductive layer 14 byextending through second insulator layer 16, and SOI layer 18. Secondelectrical terminal 30 can be composed of an electrically conductivematerial, such as a metal, and can be electrically coupled to dopedconductive layer 14. First electrical terminal 20 and second electricalterminal 30 together can function as the two contacts of an antifusestructure, with doped conductive layer being an electrically conductiveregion electrically coupling first and second electrical terminals 20,30. It is understood that wiring structure 2 can include more than twoelectrical terminals if desired, and that additional terminals can besimilar to first and second electrical terminals 20, 30, or can be inthe form of any other currently known or later developed electricalterminal. First dielectric liner 22 can substantially block theelectrical pathway between first electrical terminal 20 and secondelectrical terminal 30. However, other components discussed herein canallow a user to degrade, move, or otherwise disable electricallyinsulative portions of dielectric liner 22 to allow electric current toflow between first electrical terminal 20 and second electrical terminal30. In addition, it is understood that other portions of secondelectrical terminal 30 can be coated with other types of liners toreduce the flow of electrical current from second electrical terminal 30into other parts of wiring structure 2, but these additional liners areomitted from the accompanying figures for clarity. It is furtherunderstood that by reversing the logic levels of the integrated circuit(e.g., zero representing “high voltage” and one representing “lowvoltage”), wiring structure 2 can effectively be used in a fuse insteadof an antifuse.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can be programmed by using a powersupply with a particular voltage bias. Separating doped conductive layer14 from substrate 10 and SOI layer 18 with first and second insulatorlayer 12, 16 can prevent p-n junctions from forming between dopedconductive layer 14 and other components of wiring structure 2, such assubstrate 10 and SOI layer 18. The absence of a p-n junction betweendoped conductive layer 14 and either substrate 10 or SOI layer 18 canallow a power supply coupled to first or second electrical terminals 20,30 to have a negative voltage bias of, e.g., −2 V, −3 V, or an evenlower negative voltage bias. Other fuse structures, in contrast, may notbe programmable with negatively biased power supplies of this magnitude.Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate applying anegative voltage to second electrical terminal 30, which can result in alow positive voltage to first electrical terminal 20 while maintaining aparticular voltage condition between first and second electricalterminals 20, 30. First and second insulator layers 12, 16 together canisolate wiring structure 2 from other components of an integratedcircuit (IC) structure to maintain the particular voltage conditionwithout any parasitic effect by other electrical components.

Turning to FIG. 2, a process according to the present disclosure isshown. Processes discussed herein can be used to fabricate a fusecomponent of an IC structure, which can include embodiments of wiringstructure 2 (FIG. 1). Methods according to the present disclosure caninclude forming first insulator layer 12 between doped conductive layer14 and substrate 10. First insulator layer 12, which can be composed ofan oxide material or another material capable of being deposited, can beformed by depositing a layer of oxide or another insulator material ontothe surface of a silicon wafer. The silicon wafer or other material usedfor substrate 10 may be doped to have a desired polarity, e.g., p-typeor n-type doping. Doped conductive layer 14 can also be formed adjacentto first insulator layer 12. To form doped conductive layer 14, asemiconductive material such as polysilicon, silicon germanium, or aconductive organic material can be formed (e.g., by deposition), andthen doped by using any currently known or later developed process ofdoping a semiconductive material. Where substrate 10 has been doped,doped conductive layer 14 can be doped to have the opposite polarityfrom substrate 10. First insulator layer 12 can separate dopedconductive layer 14 from substrate 10 to prevent a p-n junction fromforming between substrate 10 and doped conductive layer 14. As alsoshown in FIG. 2, second insulator layer 16 may be formed adjacent todoped conductive layer 14 by the same process or a similar process aswas used to form first insulator layer 12.

SOI layer 18 can also be formed adjacent to second insulator layer 16,e.g., by creating or obtaining a “donor wafer” of the material used forSOI layer 18 and applying a currently known or later developed bondingprocess to bond SOI layer 18 to second insulator layer 16. It istherefore noted that adhesive materials may be present between thevarious layers discussed herein. However, adhesive materials which maybe used in processes of the present disclosure are omitted from theaccompanying drawings for clarity. In addition or alternatively, SOIlayer 18 can be formed by other processes currently known or laterdeveloped, such as deposition. As a result, first insulator layer 12 andsecond insulator layer 16 can isolate doped conductive layer 14 fromsubstrate 10 and SOI layer 18. Electrically isolating doped conductivelayer 14 from substrate 10 and SOI layer 18 can prevent a p-n junctionfrom being present between doped conductive layer 14 and othercomponents separated from doped conductive layer 14 by first and secondinsulator layers 12, 16.

To electrically isolate some of the components of wiring structure 2(FIG. 1), e.g., first electrical terminal 20 and/or second electricalterminal 30 shallow trench isolations (STIs) 46 can be formed byremoving portions of SOI layer 18 and depositing electrically insulativematerials within the removed portions. Each STI 46 can be formed, e.g.,where first electrical terminal 20 and second electrical terminal 30 canbe placed within wiring structure 2 (FIG. 1).

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, methods of the present disclosure can alsoinclude forming a first electrical terminal 20 (FIG. 1) and an isolationring 56 (discussed below with reference to FIG. 5) within dopedconductive layer 14. First electrical terminal 20 (FIG. 1) can beexternally lined with first dielectric liner 22 (FIG. 1) Firstelectrical terminal 20 (FIG. 1) can be formed by any currently known orlater developed process of forming and/or embedding a component withinan IC structure. As an example, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a photomask 50 whichcan be deposited onto SOI layer 18. Using photomask 50, a trench 52 canbe etched into SOI layer 18, second insulator layer 16, and dopedconductive layer 14 to any desired depth. As shown in FIG. 4, trench 52can be a continuous “moat,” “trench,” “deep trench” or loop whichencloses a cross-sectional area of an IC structure. Thus, trench 52 isshown in FIG. 3 as being in two parts of one cross section. It isunderstood in the art of IC technology that a “trench” can extendthrough one or several layers an IC structure. Different shapes andstructures of trench 52 are also contemplated, and can be formed byusing different types of photomasks 50. In addition, a terminal opening54 can be etched into SOI layer 18, second insulator layer 16, and dopedconductive layer 14 to any desired depth. Further, it is understood thattrench 52 and terminal opening 54 can be etched through first insulatorlayer 12 and substrate 10 if desired. The forming of trench 52 and/orterminal opening 54 can be completed by any currently known or laterdeveloped process for removing a material, such as etching.Specifically, the etching can be performed by “reactive ion etching,”(RIE), a variation of plasma etching in which, during etching, asemiconductor wafer is placed on an RF powered electrode. ThroughoutRIE, the wafer may take on an electric potential which accelerates theetching species extracted from plasma toward the etched surface. Trench52 and terminal opening 54 can be formed sequentially or simultaneously,and generally can be formed before or after the forming of othercomponents discussed herein.

Turning now to FIG. 5, embodiments of the present disclosure can includefilling trench 52 (FIG. 3) and terminal opening 54 (FIG. 3). Firstdielectric liner 22 can be formed within terminal opening 54 (FIG. 3) bylining dielectric material, e.g., a material or oxide having adielectric constant of at least 3.9, within terminal trench 52 (FIG. 3).A conductive material such as a metal can then be deposited to form thestructure of first electrical terminal 20. Excess materials remaining onSOI layer 18 after the forming or depositing of conductive material canbe removed by any currently known or later developed process forremoving a material, e.g., backgrinding, chemical mechanical polishing(CMP), or other forms of polishing.

The wiring structure disclosed herein can also include an isolation ring56 embedded within doped conductive layer 14. As is known in the art, an“isolation ring” can generally refer to a structural material whichblocks current flow between two or more distinct components of an ICstructure. Isolation ring 56 can be composed of the same or similarelectrically conductive materials as first and second electricalterminals 20, 30, and thus may act as an electrical connection betweenother components of an IC structure. Isolation ring 56 can also includea second dielectric liner 58, which can be positioned between isolationring 56 and doped conductive layer 14 to substantially block the flow ofelectric current between doped conductive layer 14 and other componentsof an IC structure. Second dielectric liner 58 may be composed of anycurrently known or later developed insulating material, e.g., anymaterial used to form first and second insulator layers 12, 16. Inaddition, it is understood that isolation ring 56 can be coated withother liner materials to reduce the flow of electrical current withinisolation ring 56 into other parts of wiring structure 2 and/or toprevent degradation of second dielectric liner 58, but these additionalliners are omitted from the accompanying figures for clarity. Seconddielectric liner 58 can be formed within trench 52 (FIG. 3) bydepositing dielectric material, e.g., an insulating material or oxide,therein. Isolation ring 56 can also be created by forming or depositinga conductive or non-conductive material within trench 52 (FIG. 3) by anyother currently known or later developed process.

Processes of the present disclosure can also include forming secondelectrical terminal 30 within doped conductive layer 14, either beforeor after the forming of first electrical terminal 20 and isolation ring56. Second electrical terminal 30 can be formed by any currently knownor later developed process, e.g., removing portions of doped conductivelayer 14, second insulator layer 16, and SOI layer 18, and insertingsecond electrical terminal 30 into the removed portions. Secondelectrical terminal 30, upon being formed, can be embedded in dopedconductive layer 14. By removing portions of second insulator layer 16and SOI layer 18, second electrical terminal 30 can also be embeddedwithin second insulator layer 16 and SOI layer 18. In addition oralternatively, second electrical terminal 30 can extend through firstinsulator 12 and substrate 10 by etching portions thereof before formingsecond electrical terminal 30, if desired. Each of first electricalterminal 20, second electrical terminal 30, and isolation ring 56 (andrespective dielectric liners 22, 58) can be formed sequentially orsimultaneously in various embodiments. It is understood that theprocesses described herein can be performed in any conceivable order andcombination, e.g., first electrical terminal 20 and isolation ring 56can be formed together before or after second electrical terminal 30,first and second electrical terminals 20, 30 can be formedsimultaneously before or after isolation ring 56, etc.

Turning to FIG. 6, embodiments of the present disclosure can alsoinclude adding doped conductive materials to first electrical terminal20 and/or isolation ring 56. For example, a terminal recess 62 can beformed by removing a portion of first electrical terminal 20 and firstdielectric liner 22 by any currently known or later developed process ofremoving a material (e.g., applying photomask 50 (FIG. 3) and etching toa particular depth). A trench recess 64 can additionally oralternatively be formed by removing a portion of isolation ring 56 andsecond dielectric liner 58 by any currently known or later developedprocess for removing materials from an IC structure. Terminal recess 62and/or trench recess 64 can be used as locations for inserting otherconductive materials, including doped conductive materials, as describedherein. Alternatively, non-doped semiconductor materials can be added toterminal recess 62 and/or trench recess 64, which can then be doped insitu by any currently known or later developed doping process. It isunderstood that semiconductor materials formed according to the processdiscussed herein can be pre-doped, or can be doped after being added toa wiring structure of a fuse component.

As shown in FIG. 7, a doped conductive material 70 can be formed (e.g.,by being deposited) within terminal recess 62 and/or trench recess 64(FIG. 6). Doped conductive material 70 can be composed of the samematerial or a similar material as doped conductive layer 14 (e.g.,polysilicon, silicon germanium, or a conductive organic material).Further, doped conductive material 70 can be doped to have the samepolarity as doped conductive layer 14. Introducing doped conductivematerial 70 to first electrical terminal 20 and/or isolation ring 56 canimprove the conductivity and performance of the resulting fusecomponent. After doped conductive material 70 is formed, excess materialcan be removed by polishing or any other currently known or laterdeveloped process for removing excess materials from an IC structure.

Methods of the present disclosure can also include forming a transistor90. A “transistor” is an electrical component with at least threeterminals: a gate, a source, and a drain. Parts of a semiconductormaterial can be used to form the source and drain terminals of atransistor. When a gate voltage V_(g) from a transistor power supply 91is applied to the gate terminal of a transistor, the semiconductorbetween the source and drain terminals can become electrically active,thereby forming a “conductive channel.” Thus, transistors can be used asan electrically activated and deactivated switch. A channel region 92 oftransistor 90 can be formed within a region of SOI layer 18 and mayinclude a source terminal and a drain terminal, as described herein.Transistor 90 can also include a gate terminal coupled to transistorpower supply 91, which can render channel region 92 conductive ornon-conductive as desired. Transistor 90 can allow a fuse componentaccording to the present disclosure to be activated or deactivated. Forexample, channel region 92 in a non-conductive state can preventelectrical current from reaching first electrical terminal 20. However,when a voltage is applied to the gate of transistor 90, electricalcurrents can flow through channel region 92 to reach first electricalterminal 20 and degrade first dielectric liner 22.

Turning to FIG. 8, embodiments of the present disclosure can alsoinclude forming other components of a fuse structure. An interlayerdielectric 95 can be formed by any currently known or later developedprocess of forming or depositing an insulative material on an ICstructure. Similar to other insulative materials discussed herein,interlayer dielectric 95 can substantially block the flow of electriccurrent between two distinct layers of an IC structure. Interlayerdielectric 95 can be composed of, e.g., an insulating material such asan oxide, which can be deposited, bonded, or otherwise placed onto SOIlayer 18 and structures coupled thereto, including transistor 90. FIGS.9 and 10 illustrate other materials which can be coupled to transistor90 and the components formed in processes discussed herein, which maytogether form a completed fuse structure 102 (FIG. 9) as describedherein.

The foregoing drawings show some of the processing associated accordingto several embodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, eachrepresents a process associated with embodiments of the methoddescribed. It should also be noted that in some alternativeimplementations, the acts noted in the drawings or blocks may occur outof the order noted in the figure or, for example, may in fact beexecuted substantially concurrently or in the reverse order, dependingupon the act involved. Also, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that additional drawings that describe the processing may beadded.

Two views of a fuse component 102 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure are shown by way of example in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9illustrates a cross-sectional side view of fuse component 102 and itswiring structure, and FIG. 10 provides a top-down view of fuse component102. First electrical terminal 20, second electrical terminal 30,isolation ring 56, and/or doped conductive material 70 can beelectrically coupled to a metal wire 110 of an IC structure. Inaddition, first electrical terminal 20 can be coupled to transistor 90,which can also be referred to as a “control transistor” or a “controlfield effect transistor (FET).” Each metal wire can be formed within adielectric layer 112 by removing portions of dielectric layer 112 andforming each metal wire 110 (e.g., by deposition) within dielectriclayer 112. The total number of layers in an IC structure which includemetal wires 110 can vary between embodiments, and may include, forexample, four to six layers or as many as, in a further example, sixteenlayers. The various layers can be designated by the “M” nomenclature,with each metal layer being identified successively as M1, M2, M3, etc.Metal wire 110 generally may be composed of a conductive material ormetal, such as copper, aluminum, silver, etc. and may be coupled toother electrical components as desired. Metal wire 110 can couple thestructure of fuse component 102 to other electrical components andstructures. In particular, metal wire 110 may couple a source or drainterminal of channel region 92 to a power supply 120. Advantages offeredby wiring structures of fuse component 102 discussed herein can include,e.g., the ability to program a fuse structure using highly biased powersupplies. As an example, power supply 120 coupled to channel region 92may have a magnitude of at least approximately 2.0 V, which may be inthe form of a negative voltage or a positive voltage. In addition, thevoltage from power supply 120 can be much higher, as may be required todegrade first dielectric liner 22. The voltage for degrading firstdielectric liner 22 can be increased by design in order to decrease thesize of isolation ring 56 as needed. Thus, isolation ring 56, firstinsulator layer 12, and second insulator layer 16 together can form athree-dimensional isolation structure for fuse component 102, as thesestructures and/or second dielectric liner 42 will not degrade whensubjected to the voltage yielded from power supply 120. Thus, fusecomponents with wiring structures according to the present disclosurecan be programmed with a broader range of voltage biases than those thatmay be available with other fuse components without affecting othercircuits on the same chip.

As shown in FIG. 10, isolation ring 56 can be formed in a conductiveloop or “moat” shape to enclose a cross sectional area of fuse component102. Specifically, isolation ring 56 can enclose a cross sectional areawhich includes first electrical terminal 20, second electrical terminal30, and doped conductive layer 14. The structure of FIG. 10 can be usedto structurally isolate fuse component 102 from other components withinthe same IC structure, and to protect fuse component 102 from electricalcurrents generated by other components. As discussed herein,electrically programming or “fusing” fuse component 102 can includedegrading portions of first dielectric liner 22 to create anelectrically conductive region 130 adjacent to doped conductive layer14. As shown in both FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, power supply 120 may beelectrically coupled to first electrical terminal 20, e.g., throughtransistor 90.

When electric current is permitted to flow to first electrical terminal20 (e.g., by applying a gate voltage V_(g) from transistor power supply91 to the gate terminal of transistor 90 and rendering channel region 92active), first electrical terminal 20 adjacent dielectric liner 22 canbecome electrically charged. First dielectric liner 22, having adielectric constant of at least approximately 3.9 and a thickness ofbetween approximately 1 nm and approximately 10 nm may degrade inresponse to a high electrical potential on the side of first electricalterminal 20. The degradation of first dielectric liner 22 can form aconductive region 130 positioned between first electrical terminal 20and doped conductive layer 14. Conductive region 130 can allow electriccurrent from first electrical terminal to travel through dopedconductive layer 14 to reach second electrical terminal 30. As a result,fuse component 102 can function as an “antifuse,” a component whichprevents the flow of electrical current until being programmed, e.g., byelectrically degrading first dielectric liners 22. Although seconddielectric liner 58 may be composed of a similar material to firstdielectric liner 22, second dielectric liner 58 may not degrade under abias voltage applied to isolation ring 56.

In an embodiment, the flow of electrical current across metal-to-siliconelectrical couplings can be increased by forming one or more silicideregions 140 between metal-based and silicon-based components of fusecomponent 102. As is known in the art, silicide region 140 can includean alloy of silicon and another metal, and may include, e.g., TiSi₂(titanium silicide), CoSi₂ (cobalt silicide), and NiSi (nickelsilicide). In addition, a coupling silicide region 142 (shown inphantom) can electrically couple first electrical terminal 20 to channelregion 92 of transistor 90. Coupling silicide region 142 can be formedin some embodiments to directly couple first electrical terminal 20 totransistor 90 without adding further electrical connections to metalwire 110 of dielectric layer 112. Forming coupling silicide region 142can optionally be added to fuse structure 102 to accommodate differentmanufacturing needs.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or” comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art topractice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal language of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wiring structure for a trench fuse component,the wiring structure comprising: a first electrical terminal embeddedwithin a doped conductive layer, the doped conductive layer beingpositioned between two insulator layers of an integrated circuit (IC)structure; a dielectric liner positioned between the first electricalterminal and the doped conductive layer; a second electrical terminalembedded within the doped conductive layer; wherein each of the firstelectrical terminal and the second electrical terminal are furtherembedded in one of the two insulator layers, and the dielectric liner isconfigured to degrade upon becoming electrically charged.
 2. The wiringstructure of claim 1, wherein the dielectric liner includes a dielectricmaterial having a dielectric constant of at least approximately 3.9. 3.The wiring structure of claim 2, wherein the dielectric liner includes aconductive region formed by degradation of the dielectric material. 4.The wiring structure of claim 1, further comprising a transistorelectrically coupled between a power supply and one of the firstelectrical terminal and the second electrical terminal.
 5. The wiringstructure of claim 4, wherein the power supply has a voltage biasmagnitude of at least approximately 2.0 V.
 6. The wiring structure ofclaim 1, further comprising a silicide region coupling the transistor toone of the first electrical terminal and the second electrical terminal.7. The wiring structure of claim 1, wherein the doped conductive layerincludes one of polysilicon, silicon germanium, and a conductive organicmaterial.
 8. The wiring structure of claim 1, further comprising anisolation ring enclosing a cross sectional area of the first electricalterminal, the second electrical terminal, and the doped conductivelayer.
 9. The wiring structure of claim 1, further comprising a dopedsubstrate layer positioned adjacent to one of the two insulator layers,wherein the doped substrate layer is doped one of p-type and n-type, andthe doped conductive layer is doped the other of p-type and n-type. 10.The wiring structure of claim 1, wherein a portion of the firstelectrical terminal includes one of polysilicon, silicon germanium, anda conductive organic material.
 11. A trench antifuse structurecomprising: a substrate; a first insulator layer positioned adjacent tothe substrate; a doped conductive layer positioned adjacent to the firstinsulator layer; a second insulator layer positioned adjacent to thedoped conductive layer; a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layerpositioned adjacent to the second insulator layer; a first electricalterminal embedded within the doped conductive layer, the secondinsulator layer, and the SOI layer; a dielectric liner positionedbetween the first electrical terminal and the doped conductive layer;and a second electrical terminal embedded within the doped conductivelayer, the second insulator layer, and the SOI layer; wherein thedielectric liner is configured to degrade upon becoming electricallycharged.
 12. The antifuse structure of claim 11, further comprising anisolation ring a cross sectional area of the first electrical terminal,the second electrical terminal, and the doped conductive layer.